COMPLETED PROJECT
HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN & INNOVATION / COLUMBIA / 2026
Stammtisch
The regulars’ table for your neighborhood. Pink tables at local cafés and an app that turn first hellos into second meetings.
Say hi once. See them again.
01 / CROWDED, BUT ALONE
In a city of millions, almost every encounter is a one-off.
Our brief was “Overcrowded New York.” We traced how density becomes anonymity, and anonymity becomes loneliness. For New Yorkers aged 22–35 building a local circle, the challenge isn’t finding more people. It’s seeing the same people again.
~1 in 2
Manhattan households are a single person. Klinenberg, 2012, as cited in the design document.
26%
of Americans know all or most of their neighbors. Pew Research Center, 2025, as cited in the document.
~50 hours
together to become casual friends. Hall, 2018, as cited in the design document.
02 / THE INSIGHT
People aren’t missing. Second meetings are.
Two teammates, Robert and Rebecca, live at International House New York. Shared dinners and hallway chats showed them how repeated, informal encounters turn strangers into friends. Interviews echoed the gap: familiar faces without names, one-off events, and the fear of asking someone to meet again.
“I would like something that curates my events so that I see the same people again naturally.”
Jacob, 28 · Interview excerpt from the design document
03 / ONE COMMUNITY, TWO WAYS TO CONNECT
Plan online. Meet at the pink table.
Verified neighbors join a local circle to chat, find events, and see which tables are active. In person, pink tables at cafés, libraries, and laundromats make it clear who is open to a conversation.
01 / Signal
Sitting at the pink table means “I’m open to chat.” A first hello becomes an invitation, not a risk.
02 / Repetition
Same table, same time each week. A run club or plant swap adds another reason for familiar faces to return.
03 / Consent
First names only. Personal details unlock only when both people tap “We met.” No yes, no sharing.
Designing the second meeting, not just the first.
The team’s comparison looks at friend-matching apps, one-off dinners, interest groups, neighborhood networks, and “Happy to Chat” benches. Stammtisch combines an in-person invitation with verified local circles, recurring times, and mutual consent—so a first hello has a natural next step.
04 / THE IDEAL EXPERIENCE
Rebecca’s first month in Morningside Heights
An illustrative journey: from arriving in a new neighborhood to finding a place in it.
01 / Join
Rebecca verifies her address and joins her neighborhood circle. Free, first name only.
02 / Find an event
On the events board, she finds Saturday’s run club and goes along.
03 / Take a seat
On Tuesday, she sits at the café’s pink table. Everyone there is open to chat.
04 / “We met”
She and Lena both tap “We met,” choosing to unlock names and interests.
05 / Meet again
Same table on Tuesdays, same run on Saturdays. The faces become friends.
06 / Feel at home
Pink tables at familiar local places make the neighborhood feel like hers.
05 / THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS THE PLATFORM
A little more local. A lot more familiar.
Neighbors
Opt in, verify, and show up. Find friends nearby without a cold approach, with low commitment and the freedom to leave anytime.
Local businesses
Cafés and laundromats host a pink table and regular time slot. In return, neighbors become regulars during quiet hours.
Community spaces
Libraries, gardens, associations, and run clubs host tables and events that reach new residents and keep the same people coming back.
Business model hypotheses, not yet tested: buildings pay for a dedicated alternative to group chats; local businesses pay for hyperlocal ads within a radius they choose. Morningside Heights is the proposed first neighborhood—not a confirmed launch.
SAFE BY DESIGN
Verified neighbors. Public, staffed places. “Friendly chat, not dating.” Details shared only when both agree. Report and block in one tap. These are design principles for the concept, not claims about a launched service.
06 / THE PROTOTYPE
From joining to staying in touch.
Five concept screens connect the neighborhood circle to a real-world meeting. These are static representations of the app flow, not a live product.
Join
Your neighborhood
Morningside Heights
184 neighbors
1 · Verify address
Lease or utility bill
2 · First name only
No photo needed
3 · House rules
Friendly chat, not dating
Join
Verify your address. Only your first name is shown.
Neighborhood
Morningside Heights
SAT 9AM
Run club, Riverside
TUE 7PM
Pink table, Café 112th
SUN 11AM
Plant swap, garden
+ Plan something
Chat and see what’s on in your circle.
Tables nearby
Pink = open to chat
Café on 112th
3 here now · Tue 7–9
Library, 2nd floor
1 here · Sat 10–12
Laundromat
Quiet · Sun 4–6
Find active pink tables and their regular times.
Café on 112th
Stammtisch · Tue 7–9
4 regulars
usually come
Host offer
10 muffins left
For neighbors
20% off today
I’ll be there
See familiar faces, RSVP, and find the host’s offer.
Did you meet?
At the café table today
Share your name
and interests with the person you met?
Only if you both say yes.
No yes, no sharing.
Yes, we met
Both choose whether to share personal details.
07 / VIDEO PROTOTYPE
Two newcomers move into the same building, never meet, and finally connect at the pink table. Watch the subtitled concept film.
CONTEXT
Human-Centered Design and Innovation (HCDIx)
Harry West
Professor of Professional Practice in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia Engineering, and former CEO of frog. Harry West taught Human-Centered Design and Innovation (HCDIx) in the MSxMBA program, Fall 2026, Subterm A.
The team
Jacob Lundquist
Jenny Tran
Justin Paik
Rebecca Zhou
NEXT / REFINEMENT & VALIDATION
A concept to test, not a finished service.
The document proposes QR or NFC table check-ins, smarter recurring time slots, a host dashboard, and easier address verification through partner buildings and universities. Host feedback, prototype testing results, pricing, and launch partners remain to be validated.
Stammtisch / HCDIx · Columbia University · 2026